The Good Foods Co-op board is delighted to announce that, following a careful and thorough search process, a new General Manager has just been hired. Dean Sparks comes to us with a dedication to co-ops, organics and sustainability as well as a strong management background. We believe he has the vision, energy, and skills to move the co-op forward significantly in the coming years.
Dean Sparks has 10 years of grocery retail experience and 14 years of organic farming experience. He has successfully opened two grocery stores from the ground up in his career. He was General Manager for Morrisville Food Cooperative in Morrisville, Vermont, where he was brought in to help launch the co-op before its opening. He has also served as the General Manager for Hart’s Local Grocer. This was a startup project in Rochester, NY. The project was to bring a local community-focused store to the downtown area which hadn’t had a grocery store for decades prior.
Dean also owned an organic farm in upstate New York, where he supplied organic products to grocery retailers and cooperatives for many years. He also previously worked as the Grocery Manager for GreenStar Cooperative Market, where he managed their center store department. He most recently served as General Manager for Public Market, a new grocery store opened in Wheeling, West Virginia, before moving to Mexico to care for his mother.
Dean is a builder and a fixer who is passionate about organic foods and sustainability. He sees Good Foods Co-op as an opportunity to utilize all of his experience and knowledge to help the co-op continue to grow and flourish.
Dean is excited to join the team and started on Monday, March 11. We expect he will frequently be visible in the store. When you run into him, please do welcome him to Lexington and to our co-op!
The board is grateful to Shannon Willard and Holly Deering, who both stepped up in early December to share the role of Interim General Manager. Shannon worked diligently with our accountant early on, but when she had to step away, Holly graciously took on all IGM responsibilities herself. She coordinated plans with all departments, drafted a budget for the beginning of the year, hired for a number of staff positions, oversaw crucial repairs in the warehouse, and even stepped in to cashier when needed. We know that the staff was very supportive of Holly’s poise and focus through these challenges. The Co-op is most fortunate to have had both Holly’s and Shannon’s leadership these last few months.
